Xtar 18700 batteries tested 2200-2400-2600

I was sent some Xtar batteries to test , Thank you Xtar and www.szwholesale.com Serena


For testing , I was sent the

Xtar 18700 2200mAh Diameter - 18.4mm Length - 68.8mm

Xtar 18700 2400mAh Dia - 18.5mm L- 69.2mm

Xtar 18700 2600mAh [ Built on a Sanyo 2600mAh cell ] Dia- 18.5mm L-69.2mm


The first test was a discharge for capacity test , and I included a Sony 2600 and a Samsung 28A in the mix . I used my Imax B6 hobby charger , discharger , to discharge the cells @ 0.5A .




Next I did a discharge for current test using 4 flashlights , a XR-E R2 , a XP-G R5 Duel emitter set up , a XM-L T6 and a SSC P7 . I included a few more cells into the mix , Solarforce V2 and the AW2600




Just in case this graph is hard to read , I did one in English






1/ Sanyo 2600

2/ Samsung 28A

3/ Xtar 2200

4/ Xtar 2400

5/ Xtar 2600

6/ Solarforce V2

7/ AW 2600


And the last one is a runtime test in a SSC P7 MTE flashlight , to show the discharge curve more realistically .






Ive run out of time , [ week end is over ] , so will do run times on the other Xtar batteries [ 2400 and 2600 as time permits ] , and I will update the discharge graph as I go along ...


I have to say the Xtar batteries performed well , especially when compared to Japanese cells , and I did test the first Xtar batteries that came out over a year ago [ 2200 ] and I have been using them constantly ever since in several high performance lights with no issues . So if the new cells are as good as the originals that came out almost one and a half years ago , then I think most people are going to be happy with there purchase . Xtar is trying to provide the flashlight community with a quality product , and in this regard I think they have succeeded rather well , the build quality is excellent , and if they prove to be as good as Xtars first foray into 18650 cells , then I think Xtar is going to be with us a long time .

Thanks for the review sir! Very good test method.

I'm waiting for the 18700 batteries to arrive as well. I'm interested to see how the size compares to an 18650 battery, and thus, the compatibility with flashlights made for 18650. Would you say these 18700s will work in most 18650 applications?

I had no issues with 18700 so far anywhere a protected 18650 worked.

Most lights will accept the 18700 , some older lights [with 18mm tubes] , could have issue , as well as some with short body tubes .. [ Built before 18650 became popular ]

I was going to say this in the conclusion , but hey ..

If you have a light that is a tight fit with a regular 18650 ? then buying 18700 wont help . My old Romisen can take shorter 18650's and ones that are 18mm Dia , but anything else simply wont fit , so there are some older lights etc out there that would have issue , so its up to buyers to be aware of there lights . Most p60 hosts should be fine , and lights like the Solarforce L2 have slightly overly long battery tubes .

I had big hopes for the sanyo based 18700 2600mAh. Can't wait to get mine to test them out.

Just want to add that my XTAR 2600 (somewhat seasoned with a few cycles) got me 2490mAh discharged to about 2.8V (as measured by the Uni-T UT-58E DMM) at 1 amp. I think i mentioned elsewhere that i tested new cells to be just a hair below 2300mAh. This cell is quite seasoned (but still new, less than 6 months old)

A true blue Sanyo 2600 unprotected got me 2470mAh immediately before this, same parameters.

I can't do graphs like mitro, but i did notice that initially the XTAR did sag quite a bit more to about 3.75V as compared to even the Trustfire flames which did 3.95V. This is in-line with what others measured as "slightly lower current" even compared to cells like Solarforce 2400s. But still able to pump well like 4A in my DD DRY.

The so called Sanyo 2600 is actually called Sanyo UR18650F. http://battery.sanyo.com/en/spec/ion/UR18650F.pdf

If anyone takes a look at the official datasheet, will notice that these cells are not 2600mAh, they are 2500mAh. Actually on closer inspection you can see that the discharge looks like 2480-90mAh. That's why all tests indicate a 2450+ for these cells. So anyone having doubts about it, they are not necessary.

I think I will re-test mine also. Got maybe ~20 cycles, one per week. Will edit result here later.

edit: naah, just a hair over 2300mAh here... 4,16V -> 2,7V. 1A.

These give less mAh and less amperes than TF Flame 3000. These better beat them up in service life ;)